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Survey indicates improving job prospects

"The job market may start to go through a shake-up this year, meaning a challenging period for middle-aged job seekers."

Kevin Zang, editor in chief of `Career' magazine

Taiwan's latest job data suggests the labor market is continuing to improve, as the unemployment rate dipped to a 45-month low in January.

But the solid improvement in the job market cannot be applied across all sectors in a market that is experiencing a structural sea change, according to the latest survey released by the Chinese-language monthly magazine Career (就業情報) last week.

"Only young job seekers and fresh graduates can feel happy. Not middle-aged people," said editor in chief Kevin Zang (臧聲遠), citing the survey's results.

The survey was conducted by the magazine during the week between Jan. 25 and Feb. 3 and questioned the nation's top 1,000 firms.

Two weeks ago, the government said the jobless rate fell to 4.06 percent in January as the economy was on the mend. The number of the unemployed also dropped to around 419,000 people.

But Zang said that he did not expect the labor market to improve much more this year, but foresees the market shifting in favor of young job hunters.

The move by local corporations to speed up efforts to rejuvenate the workforce and the implementation of a new labor rule may displace more workers aged 35 or older, Zang said. "The job market may start to go through a shake-up this year, meaning a challenging period for middle-aged job seekers."

Positions for people over 35 years-old would shrink sharply, in stark contrast to the severe staff shortages in the high-tech industry and service sector, Zang said.

Over 6,000 jobs offered by electronics companies in Hsinchu Science-based Park (新竹科學園區) last year are still vacant, according to the government's statistics.

The trend seems irreversible. Half of the questionaire's 357 respondents said they planned to reduce their hiring of job applicants over 40 years old in the near future, the survey found.

"In the past, middle-aged people were usually seen as the elites of a company, but now they are regarded as a heavy burden for companies that are trying to squeeze out profits [amid falling margins]," Zang said.

The phenomenon is most striking in the traditional and manufacturing sectors, such as construction companies, according to the survey.

Taiwanese companies are also encouraging early retirement, by offering preferential packages, Zang said.

That would also trim costs for corporations, which will be required to pay 6 percent of an employee's monthly wage as part retirement payments, he said.

The new rule is scheduled to take effect in July.

"For cost efficiency, corporate executives prefer to hire young applicants at lower wages," he said.

Despite the disadvantages middle-aged people face, there are still job opportunities. Foreign retailers such as Tesco have said they have not been able to recruit enough new staff, Zang said.

He suggested middle-aged people adjust their mindsets to consider lower-paying jobs.

"That could provide a chance for them to create another career peak," Zang said.
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